By the time the two arrived at the shop, Fusa’s sharp eyes caught them riding over on a single horse. She quickly rushed out to greet them, her face flaunting a teasing smile.
Jiang Yichun dismounted first, then reached out to help Bai Ruozhu down from the horse. His movements were gentle and meticulous. But with Fusa still watching, Bai Ruozhu couldn’t help but blush.
"You go attend to the shop, I have some matters to take care of." Jiang Yichun whispered into her ear, "I’ll come pick you up later, don’t wander off."
Bai Ruozhu, her face flushed, quickly acknowledged his words. Jiang Yichun’s closeness, his whispering in her ear, his actions were rather suggestive, especially considering they were in the middle of the street.
Jiang Yichun let out a low chuckle, mounted his horse again, and quickly left.
Bai Ruozhu, still blushing, hurried into the shop. Faced with Fusa’s smiling eyes, she quickly changed the topic and asked, "How was the business today? How many custom orders have been delivered?"
Fusa put away her smile, saying, "Not bad. Two more ladies came to order new items. It’s just that we are always short of delivery. It’s really worrying."
Bai Ruozhu was also a little bit worried, "We still need to buy some maids. I will arrange this as soon as possible."
Then she sat in the nearby shop for a while. This place is primarily for displaying new items, and when customers come, they can sit down, have some tea and dimsum, and decide whether they want to order any new items.
After staying in the shop for a while and going over the account books, she heard someone coming in. Turning her head, she saw it was Xu Huilin.
"Bai Ruozhu, where’s your man?" Xu Huilin seemed in quite a hurry, his speech swift. It was obvious he was looking for Jiang Yichun with an urgent matter.
"He just went out to handle some business. What is it, do you have an emergency?" Bai Ruozhu asked with some concern.
Xu Huilin’s gaze flickered slightly, "Nevermind, I’ll go find him outside." Having said that, he rushed out as if afraid of Bai Ruozhu’s further inquiries.
Bai Ruozhu grew more suspicious. If it wasn’t urgent, why did he leave in such a hurry? Could he not have just waited in the shop?
Thinking this, she followed him out, intending to see which direction he was heading. She saw him dart into a nearby alley.
Bai Ruozhu suddenly remembered that the backyard of the shop they had rented had a window overlooking the alleyway behind it. As that window was usually kept closed, no one paid much attention to it. Xu Huilin would certainly not be concerned with such things. A mischievous smile crept up her lips. She hurried back to the shop; she decided to sneak into the backyard to observe what kind of mischief Xu Huilin was up to.
When she reached the window in the backyard, worried that opening the window would make too much noise, she wetted a spot on the paper window with her saliva and poked a hole through it, sneakily peeking through.
As expected, Xu Huilin was standing not far away in the alley, seemingly awaiting someone.
Bai Ruozhu knew his hearing was exceptional, therefore she dared not move, maintaining her position and quietly observing through the hole.
Soon, Jiang Yichun hurried over from a distance. Xu Huilin lowered his voice and said, "Didn’t you say you were going back to the shop first? It caused me to run into Ruozhu there. She even asked about you."
Jiang Yichun frowned, "One of my subordinates had to report something. You didn’t say anything unnecessary, did you? She doesn’t need to know about these kinds of things."
"Of course not. I made up an excuse and rushed out. Here, take these silver banknotes. There’s no need to pay me back in a hurry." Saying this, Xu Huilin took out a stack of silver banknotes from his pocket and handed them to Jiang Yichun. "I’ve got a lot of official duties from my master lately. You better hurry and give that money to whomever it is intended."
"Alright, thanks." After replying, Jiang Yichun pocketed the silver banknotes and quickly left. Xu Huilin shook his head and left as well.
Bai Ruozhu was a bit in over her head, but she figured out something. Jiang Yichun was trying to borrow money from Xu Huilin, a hefty sum it seemed, as they’ve met before. Xu Huilin apparently didn’t have enough on him and had to get it from elsewhere.
She wondered somewhat anxiously, Jiang Yichun was living with her every day, with food and drink readily available, so why was he desperately needing money? And whom was he delivering the money to? A man or a woman?
She started feeling a bit upset. She was his wife, or at least they’ve managed to get their marriage documents registered at the County Government Office. He’d acknowledged it himself too, hadn’t he? So why didn’t he inform her when he required money? Why would he need to borrow from someone else?
If it was due to a man’s pride, he had previously kept two thousand taels with her, didn’t he? It wasn’t as if he was getting the money from her for free. What was there to feel embarrassed about?
She contemplated taking the opportunity to confront this head-on, but this opportunity never came even after waiting for half a day. She stayed at the shop up until it closed, but Jiang Yichun never arrived.
Where was he when he promised to pick her up?
Feeling somewhat stifled, she went home with Fusa and Chun Tao in the horse carriage. Her mother noticed that Jiang Yichun was not around and asked about his absence. She could only respond, "He had official business to attend to. He’ll be back later, and we don’t have to wait for him for dinner."
After a while, Guizhi arrived home. She looked sprightly, possibly due to being nurtured by the Hot Spring Mansion. Guizhi’s complexion had also cleared up quite a bit. Along with the nutritious food and good rest she enjoyed at Bai’s house for the past six months, her hair had turned glossy and pitch black. She bore little resemblance to her village past and now looked every bit like a merchant’s daughter.
Bai Ruozhu put aside her concerns about Jiang Yichun borrowing money, and took Guizhi’s hand, saying, "You have been working hard for the past few days. I have a small gift for you." As she said this, she took out a pearl and put it in Guizhi’s hand.
"Ah? Why did you waste money like this?" Guizhi complained, but her eyes betrayed her joy. The pearl on the flower was not small, and the fabric used for the flower was top-grade palace silk, very suitable for young girls to wear.
"Silly girl, how can this be considered a waste of money? You’ve even helped the house earn quite a bit of money. Besides, you have to interact with all those ladies of the manor every day. So, you should doll up, so as to not treated lightly by them." Bai Ruozhu responded. She then helped Guizhi place the pearl flower on her hair.
Guizhi blushed from the attention and giggled, "You already made me a few new outfits and matching accessories. That’s enough."
"That’s still not enough. They have different styles, so you can mix and match. As a woman, you should not deprive yourself. Use the skincare products from the manor too and make yourself beautiful." Bai Ruozhu chuckled and stroked Guizhi’s hand, which had become much softer.
Guizhi gave her a subtle smile, "Alright, I understand."
It wasn’t until dinner was about to be served that Bai Zepei returned home with a somber expression. Upon entering, he immediately said, "Little sister, I am the one that has put you in trouble."
"Eh?" Bai Ruozhu was stunned. Her elder brother found out about Fu Shengqing so soon?
Lin Ping thought Bai Zepei knew about Bai Ruozhu’s previous arrest, and she couldn’t help but worry about her two children.
Bai Ruozhu quickly spoke up to prevent her mother from blurting out the secret, "Elder brother, seriously, I haven’t even told mom and dad about it yet. Now that you’ve said it, I have to tell them anyway."
Every family member turned to look at her. She then explained in simple terms about how Fu Shengqing had her kidnapped today, "But I am fine, am I not? The Longevity Sect has people protecting me. As for Fu Shengqing, he will end up in jail."
Bai Zepei frowned and blamed himself severely, "Had I not invited my classmates home, none of this would have happened."
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Appreciation Time: Many thanks to Book Friends like "Don’t Leave.","Must be Crazy" , "Simple Face but a Poisonous Heart", "Like Water Years", "Entangled Game", "Baby", "Ming Yue Sky", "Rice Field", "Crystal. Baby", "Laugh at You all in the End", "Sunlight", "Fallen Sakura.", "Bai Yilin" for their generosity. Thank you for your support and encouragement. Love you all~